Florida on Alert for AOB Abuse as Irma Recovery Begins
As Florida residents return home after being evacuated by Hurricane Irma, the pressure is on the insurance industry to keep a bad situation regarding assignment of benefits abuse in the state from...
View ArticleFlorida Fights Back Against Assignment of Benefits Abuse
Florida insurers, consumer and insurance advocates, as well as regulators, are hoping 2016 may finally be the year that legislators address the misuse of assignment of benefits (AOB) for water loss...
View ArticleCommentary: Florida’s Failure to Pass AOB Reforms Will Impact State Insurance...
Following the 2016 Florida Legislative Session’s failure to pass essential assignment of benefit (AOB) reforms, the insurance industry and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. are working in tandem with...
View ArticleSpecial Report: Execs Warn of Impending Florida Market Crisis Over Water Loss...
Abuse of assignment of benefits (AOB) from water loss claims has become a full-blown Florida insurance crisis that will mean higher insurance rates next year and for the foreseeable future for every...
View ArticleCitizens Implements Contract Changes to Address Florida Water Losses
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is alerting policyholders to important policy changes beginning July 1 as part of the state-backed insurer’s efforts to improve communication and protect customers...
View ArticleFlorida’s Citizens Says AOB Abuse to Blame for Statewide Rate Increase of 6.8%
Citizens Board of Governors has approved recommended rates for 2017 that equal an average rate increase of nearly 7 percent statewide. The company said the increase is a necessary response to rising...
View ArticleHeritage Revokes 14.9% Rate Increase Filing for Florida Homeowners
After review by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) and much criticism from Florida stakeholders, Florida-based Heritage Property & Casualty Company has withdrawn its request for an...
View ArticleFlorida Regulators Approve Rate Increase for Citizens Policyholders
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved a 6.4 percent overall rate increase for 2017 for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. homeowners’ multiperil policyholders across the state. According...
View ArticleFlorida’s Citizens to Lawmakers: AOB Reform Must be Passed in 2017
Florida lawmakers can expect substantial pressure to tackle the assignment of benefits (AOB) and water loss claims crisis from the state’s insurer of last resort when Florida’s legislative session...
View ArticleTop Florida Stories of 2016: The AOB ‘Insurance Crisis’
Assignment of benefits abuse has become such a well-known problem in the state of Florida this year that it now just goes by the nickname “AOB.” The issue with AOB comes from when a policyholder...
View ArticleDemotech Suspends Florida Insurer Rating Criteria; Says Downgrades Coming
Recent Florida Supreme Court decisions and ongoing abuse in Florida’s insurance market have led a ratings company to change the criteria it uses when rating insurers in the state. The announcement...
View ArticleFlorida’s AOB Abuse by the Numbers: ‘Alarming Trend’ Reaches Crisis Point
Assignment of benefits abuse has escalated over the last five years to the point where it is now a serious disruption to Florida’s insurance market. The abuse, which is especially rampant in South...
View ArticleCitizens Posts Net Loss of $27M for 2016; Says Water Losses, AOB Abuse to Blame
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will post a net loss for 2016, its first loss in more than a decade, as water loss claims, assignment of benefit (AOB) abuse and litigation costs increasingly impact...
View ArticleCitizens Seeks Florida Agents’ Help Fighting Water Claims Abuse
As the Florida property market fights what has so far been a losing battle against attorneys and unlicensed contractor firms over water loss claims and assignment of benefits (AOB), Citizens Property...
View ArticleFlorida House Advances Bill Targeting Claims Abuse, But Senate Battle Looms
A bill aimed at decreasing insurance claims abuse in Florida has made it through the Florida House, and the industry’s hope for assignment of benefits reform now officially rests with the state Senate....
View ArticleFlorida Lawmakers Once Again Fail to Pass AOB Claims Reform
Florida lawmakers have once again let slip an opportunity to address insurance claims abuse, as legislation failed to make it through the Senate before the 2017 legislative session ended Friday. This...
View ArticleFlorida’s Citizens Approves Policy Changes, 5.3% Statewide Rate Increase for...
Homeowners in South Florida, as well as in many other parts of the state, should expect additional rate increases next year from the state-run insurer of last resort. Citizens Board of Governors...
View ArticleOpinion: Floridians Will Pay More For Less Under Citizens Managed Repair Program
Florida is famous for its catastrophic hurricanes, however, we also have our fair share of daily claims such as fire, vandalism and water losses. Florida is now becoming known for what is referred to...
View ArticleFlorida’s Citizens CEO Gilway Responds to Claims About Managed Repair Program
The following letter to the editor was written by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. President, CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway in response to an opinion piece from the Florida Association of...
View ArticleFlorida Insurers Place All Options on Table to Address AOB Abuse
Florida’s home insurers hope the public doesn’t blame them as they implement rate increases, initiate coverage changes and nonrenew policies. They say they have no choice after the Florida Legislature...
View Article